SoylentNews

kazzie writes:

UK-based food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer have been working to improve the environmetal sustainability of the company for over a decade. In their latest step to become more eco-friendly, they're getting rid of the little stickers on their fresh produce. As of this week, their avocados will have relevant information (product code, county of origin, best-before date) etched into the skin by a laser.

M&S expect to save 10 tones of paper and 5 tonnes of glue a year by tattooing their avocados in this way. Stickers don't stick well to avocado skins in the first place, so this solves a practical problem as well as reducing sticker waste.

Apparently barcodes couldn't be read reliably on an avocado, due to the uneven reflective surface of the avocado skin, but it may be practical for other produce in the future.

Original Submission